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Gas and Oil/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim is trying to mow his yard, but his lawnmower won't start. He yells to Moby. TIM: Moby! You forgot to fill the gas tank! Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, are we running out of gas? Thanks, Bee. Hey there, that's a complicated question. The short answer is no, not yet. But for a better answer, you've got to know a little bit about petroleum. Petroleum, or crude oil; forms when tiny little sea animals and plants die and then get mixed up with sand and silt on the sea floors. An animation shows tiny, dead animals and plants sinking to the bottom of a sea. TIM: As more and more sediment piles on top of them, they get compressed by immense pressure and heat. Petroleum forms from this compressed organic matter. An animation illustrates the process Tim describes. TIM: Because of its low density, petroleum flows upward through the cracks in rock. Sometimes it reaches the surface and sometimes it gets trapped by dense layers of rock, forming reservoirs of petroleum called oil fields. Images show a pool of petroleum on the ground and an underground reservoir of petroleum between rock layers. TIM: This oil can be very thin or so thick that it can hardly be poured. An image shows thin oil being poured from a tin can. A second images shows thick, chunky oil being poured from a tin can. TIM: People have known about surface petroleum for thousands of years, using it for sealing cracks in boats, lighting torches, and even waterproofing cloth. Images and animations show a large sailing ship, a lit torch, and a waterproofed coat. TIM: But it wasn't until the 19th century that people figured out that they could drill deep down into the earth to pump up reservoirs of oil. An image shows a group of nineteenth-century oilmen standing next to an oil well. TIM: They also began to refine crude oil, extracting fuels like gasoline and kerosene from it. Since then, gas and oil have transformed our civilization. An animation depicts changes that gas and oil have made to civilization. A horse and rolling green hills are replaced by a car and city buildings, a paved road appears, the farm disappears, and an airplane flies past skyscrapers. TIM: Oil is used to make countless products. Images show a vinyl record, a tube of lipstick, a diaper, and a plate as examples of petroleum-based products. TIM: And its byproducts, like gasoline and other fuels, let people move around the world, and even out of this world, in ways that would have been unimaginable a century ago. An animation shows a nighttime launch of a space shuttle. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, at first oil looked like a great replacement for coal, the main source of energy for centuries before oil was used. It's more efficient than coal, causes less pollution, and works better in small engines. An image shows a large pile of coal next to a barrel of oil. TIM: But burning petroleum still has some major downsides. It releases carbon dioxide into the air, which scientists agree contributes to the greenhouse effect and global warming. An animation shows the Earth from space. The atmosphere takes on a red tint to represent global warming. TIM: And oil spills can be devastating to wildlife. An animation shows an animal in a lake. It is caught in an oil spill, and the oil coats its fur. TIM: Plus, there's a pretty limited supply. Petroleum is produced naturally, but really, really, slowly, as in, over millions of years. So we're using it up a lot faster than it can be replaced. Worldwide, experts think there are probably about a trillion barrels of oil that can still be extracted. An animation shows a world map with oil barrels symbolizing available oil in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. TIM: In 2012, the U.S. consumed more than eighteen million barrels of oil per day. That's about twenty percent of all the oil used by the rest of the world. A circle graph illustrates what Tim describes. TIM: At that kind of rate, the world's supply of petroleum could be used up in just decades. An animation shows barrels of oil. They disappear one by one very quickly. MOBY: Beep. Moby looks worried. TIM: The threat of an oil shortage is actually one of the factors that contributes to gas prices. Even if you don't drive, you've probably heard people talking about the rising cost of gas. You might have even seen that the price of gas at the pump can change overnight, sometimes dramatically. An animation shows a gas pump. The displayed price rises from one dollar and sixty-six cents to three dollars and three cents as Tim speaks. TIM: Gas prices will often rise when there's high demand, like during the summer or over holiday weekends when a lot of people will be driving. An animation shows cars moving down a highway. Each car has luggage secured to its roof. TIM: A natural disaster, like a hurricane, that affects oil refineries will drive up gas prices, too. An animation shows a severe rain and wind storm in a rural area. TIM: So will war or conflict in parts of the world that produce a lot of crude oil. An animation shows an armed soldier in a desert area. There are oil wells in the background. TIM: To decrease our reliance on petroleum, researchers are working on ways to make engines more efficient. An animation shows a researcher in a lab coat, standing next to a car with an open hood. TIM: They're also working on techniques that will let them extract even the oil that's very hard to get, but that may not be enough. So they're working on other sources of energy. Animations show solar panels, wind turbines, and a hydroelectric power plant. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, it's a good idea to try to use gasoline wisely. It's hard to get by without it, but there are some simple steps you can take to reduce your consumption, like taking public transportation, combining errands into one trip, or carpooling to school. Images show a bus, a train, a car pulling up to a store, and two young women sharing a car ride. MOBY: Beep. Moby stands on the lawn next to Tim's lawn mower. He is holding a gasoline can and shaking his head no. TIM: But, but, I, I just need a little bit! Just to mow the rest of the lawn. MOBY: Beep. Moby refuses. He has his hands on his hips and is frowning. Tim gets a small pair of scissors and kneels on the lawn. He uses the scissors to cut the taller blades of grass. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Science Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Engineering & Technology Transcripts